Microsoft Partner of the Year Finalist

Magenium has been a dedicated Microsoft partner since our inception in 2007. It took a lot of people a lot of years to build this place into the top-tier partner that we are today, and in 2023 our efforts were recognized by earning Microsoft Partner of the Year finalist in the Converged Communications category. Winning this is a reflection of our collective expertise in Microsoft Teams for meetings & meeting rooms, Teams calling, and our ability to support both of those with our Managed Services.

Grand Opening of our Microsoft Experience Center

The next evolution of Magenium really began in earnest with signing for our new office space at 3025 Highland Parkway, Suite 275 in Downers Grove IL. The intent of this space was always to showcase the latest in technology from Microsoft and provide our customers a place to see what is possible.

What we wound up with was a facility that exceed our lofty goals. Almost everyone who walks these halls comes away with a sense of “I want that to be my office” and we couldn’t be prouder of what we built.

A New Logo, Look & Feel

Since our acquisition by AVI Systems in 2018, our back-office teams have worked to integrate the best of both organizations. Together we’ve launched new service offerings and more to bring our Microsoft consulting services to AVI Systems customers, and AVI Systems capabilities to Magenium customers.

Operationally we were probably a bit ahead of where we were from a brand perspective, so we felt the time was right to rebrand ourselves to emphasize our alignment as an AVI Systems company. So yes, while we are an AVI Systems company, we are a very specific type of AVI Systems company.

Looking Ahead to 2024

As we look ahead to 2024, we are full of excitement because we have new service offerings ready to serve our customer’s needs and, of course, our beautiful new facility. If you’re looking to improve the return on your Microsoft investment, we are here to help and you can contact us to get started.

Have a Happy New Year!

The post Reflecting on 2023: A Year of Innovation and Transformation appeared first on Magenium.

Customer-Centric Approach

If we had to pick one strategy on this list that has the most to do with our nomination it would be our unwavering commitment to customer success. We always prioritize understanding our clients’ unique challenges and business goals and tailor Microsoft solutions to their specific needs. Our dedicated team of engineers and consultants work closely with clients throughout the process ensuring positive outcomes.

The Power of Partnership

There are a lot of technology firms to choose from in this world, and we committed to Microsoft from our very beginning. As a Microsoft Cloud Solutions partner with six designations earned during recent months, we work tirelessly on our relationships internally at Microsoft. Doing this for 16 years means if we don’t have the answers, we know the people who do – and everyone benefits as a result.

Expertise Across Microsoft Solutions

Throughout this 16-year period, we made it a cultural norm internally for our people to focus on continuing education. All of our consultants and engineers carry multiple certifications that have helped add up to the many Microsoft Solutions Partner designations that we carry.

Innovative Solutions and Digital Transformation

Founded in 2007, we are a digitally native company. Our workforce has been distributed/remote since we began, and when the world went sideways a few years back we were one of few firms not caught flat-footed. In fact, our expertise in this style of work helped our organization grow tremendously as we helped aid other companies to enable their own hybrid workforce (most of whom were doing so for the very first time).

Commitment to Excellence

“Do it right or do it twice.” It’s more than a lesson learned from parents, it’s an ethos that we apply to each of our client projects. Having “been there, done that” for so many years means we know places we can save time, but equally importantly, we know where caution and absolute focus are required for success.

What’s it Mean for our Customers?

All of this culminates in a Microsoft Consulting firm that brings value that you can’t find anywhere else: seasoned Microsoft experts, better project results, and direct access to Microsoft when things get complicated.

Closing Thoughts

We have worked hard at Magenium Solutions to build the best Microsoft consultancy in the country. Being recognized by Microsoft as a finalist for Partner of the Year 2023 means all of that hard work is being noticed and we wanted to share our joy with you.

To learn more about the Partner of the Year recognition, click here.

If you’re looking to get started with your own digital transformation, hybrid office, or workplace of the future please contact us today.

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Today we’d like to walk you through why and how.

It Was Time For Change

When we originally started out 16 years ago, our brand was a bit more reserved and in-line with traditional IT consulting firms. Five years ago, we successfully merged with our parent company, AVI Systems. This merger brought two powerhouses together: an a/v integration firm with a global footprint and a boutique Microsoft consulting company with big aspirations.

The last five years have been spent streamlining internal processes between the two companies, developing comprehensive Teams Rooms solutions for the enterprise, and finding new ways to serve the marketplace with leading technology solutions from Microsoft.

With all of this happening behind the scenes, we felt it was time to update our look to reflect who we are today without changing who we are or our company name.

The Goals Of Our Rebrand

The rebrand of course needed to refresh our look and feel. Magenium as a brand needed to be able to stand as its own organization. Simultaneously, it needed to be immediately recognizable as an AVI Systems’ company. Think of how relationships between auto manufacturers work and you begin to see some parallels. A Lexus is still a Toyota, but is very much a Lexus. In much the same way, Magenium is an AVI Systems company, but still very much Magenium. We are 2 organizations and 1 at the same time, but your experience as a customer of both will be a smooth one.

Below you can see where we started and the direction we are now going. The new look is lighter, more modern, and feels fresh. But it also feels very AVI.

What You Can Expect Going Forward

As mentioned earlier, we are still the Magenium you’ve come to know and love for Microsoft expertise. If it’s been a while since you’ve worked with us, you should reach out since our capabilities as an AVI Systems company have expanded dramatically.

So that’s it – our rebranding is live and you’ll continue to see more and more with our new logo and colors. Thanks for reading and contact us today if you’re looking at your next Microsoft project.

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“We are incredibly proud to be named to this list for the fifth year straight,” said Scot Berkey, Chief Operating Officer at Magenium. “As we emerge from the pandemic, we are grateful to all of our teammates, customers and partners alike who have helped us build such an energetic place to be. This type of energy has fueled continued growth despite challenging conditions that have shaken the world for the past 3 years.”

For the 2022 list, in partnership with Best Companies Group, Crain’s surveyed several thousand employees at companies of all size across the Chicagoland area. Topics included benefits, company culture, and overall work environment. The awards program run by Crain’s is designed to identify, recognize, and honor the 100 best places to work in Chicago.

About Crain’s Chicago Business

Crain’s Chicago Business is the top source of news, analysis, and information on business in metropolitan Chicago for decision-makers in the private and public sectors. To keep these readers in the know, Crain’s relies on a staff of more than 20 experienced journalists. In addition, Crain’s publishes a weekly business magazine, Crain’s Chicago Business, that provides more profound analysis, commentary, and special reports, and features. Crain’s also produces databases, live events, and sponsored content, all to deepen readers’ understanding of local business.

About Magenium Solutions

Magenium Solutions  is a Microsoft-centric IT services and solutions partner that helps organizations of all size increase revenue, reduce risk, and reduce cost. We specialize in modern workforce solutions, unified communications & collaboration, security, managed IT services, & custom developed solutions on the Microsoft platform. Our team is comprised of technology professionals with an average of more than 20 years of experience and a global deployment footprint.

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Sipi Asset Recovery (Sipi AR), a global leader in providing secure IT asset disposition (secure ITAD), was looking for a way to automate the process of service requests from customers. Additionally, customers required quick, easy, secure access to reports on the status of their assets.

Sipi AR was using  ServiceNow to manage ticketing and asset integration, but there was a need for their customers to be able to pull data in real time and search for an asset by many fields, including by serial number, for tracking purposes.

Every customer had a different need and required custom reports, so this new solution also needed to be flexible. Flexibility in reporting meant providing access to real-time data they could filter and see just what they needed, whether it be financial information or very specific details such as what happened to a certain serial number, when, and where it is now.

Some of Sipi’s customers are hospitals and banks with extra certification requirements and privacy concerns, so the highest security standards must also be met.

SIPI AR reached out to their IT services and solutions partner, Magenium Solutions, with this request.

Magenium provided a solution

Magenium met the task head on, by creating a custom Application Programming Interface (API) and portal for Sipi that fit their needs perfectly.

The first step was to replace their legacy system with a new custom portal system that would integrate with ServiceNow and connect via API to a ServiceNow custom portal.

The new custom portal that Magenium created also allows any remote client to securely connect using OAuth 2.0 to download their data. This ensures that the data remains secure, and customers can easily manage monthly reports, get financial reports, track inventory, and access certificates of destruction when necessary.

Additionally, the new API system allows customers to automate the process of calling for a service request from Sipi. Scheduling a pick-up of retired assets is now a hands-off process. When a customer has retired equipment in need of disposition, for example, they tell the portal how many items to pick up, when they would like them scheduled, if they need certificates of destruction, and where to find the items to pick up. Sipi receives the request and the team is set into action.

Using ServiceNow and the new custom portal, everything is tracked with all the details the customer needs to know, including the date the asset was retired, which department it belongs to, and any other details the customer needs for their inventory, right down to serial numbers. Once the selected items are picked up and properly disposed of, customers automatically receive a report. Later, when customers require inventory reports, they can quickly look up the status of an asset at any time, allowing concise tracking and reporting.

Partner with Magenium for your solution

Sipi AR is proud to offer this new portal to their customers, and Magenium is happy they could provide a quick, easy, secure access solution for their clients.

Whether your requirements involve value recovery, responsible recycling, asset inventory, or data destruction, Sipi AR creates programs like this to meet your needs—while maintaining the highest levels of physical and data security. Find out more about Sipi AR and how they can help with your ITAD needs; start a partnership with them today for an easier tomorrow.

Do you have business processes that could be automated? Partner with Magenium to find unique ways to smooth out the kinks in your workflow.

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We have several different styles of Microsoft Teams rooms from simple huddle room setups to a large, dual screen conference room.

Now to be sure, we are taking some great precautions as we welcome visitors. Upon arrival, you will check in while in our vestibule, and we have masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer available. All surfaces are cleaned regularly and we encourage people to maintain the social distancing that has been so successful for us in Illinois.

AVI Systems and Magenium is proud to serve our customers during this strange time and we are happy to welcome you back to our offices.

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Microsoft had teased back in November that it’s newly rebuilt Microsoft Edge browser would release in January. Now, the Chromium-based browser is available for both Windows and Mac users alike. Anyone looking to install the new version can simply head over to the Microsoft Edge site and download it for free. 

How Does Chromium Edge Perform?

As a major Gold-certified partner to Microsoft we test things pretty heavily prior to rollout and over the last few months – I can say I’m happy with how this browser performs. Dynamics 365 pages load quickly as do all of the other Microsoft services I frequently use such as SharePoint, Stream, and PowerBI. The same is true of most personal sites I visit from banking to news. Not surprisingly, pages load just as quickly as they do in Chrome. 

Extensions Etc

Power users everywhere rejoice! Extensions that work for Google Chrome will now work in the Edge browser. So while the Microsoft store is building out their library of extensions, you can be assured that most of what you’re looking for will run in Edge just fine. 

Built-in Security

While yes, Chromium is an open-sourced standard maintained by Google, Microsoft takes a hard left from Google’s approach to end-user security. By default, Microsoft turns Tracking Prevention on to Balanced, which blocks most ads and all trackers from sites you haven’t visited before. Conversely, Google still lets sites track you across the internet by default.

This is incredibly helpful for organizations that worry about what their users might click on. Of course, you can move it to strict and then the browser behaves much like it has an ad-blocker installed and blocks almost all advertisements. 

The Bottom Line

Microsoft’s completely rebuilt Edge browser is a great effort for something that has been totally rebuilt. Who is this for? Most likely this will benefit the enormous legion of users who “just click the blue E” icon in their task bar. Or, people who want a better experience but have reservations about using Google products for privacy reasons. 

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With its acquisition of Chicago-based IT services firm, Magenium Solutions, AVI Systems adds to its visual communications technology expertise in areas ranging from Unified Communications to Enterprise Systems Management.

Eden Prairie, Minn. – AVI Systems announced today that it has acquired Magenium Solutions, a Chicago-based technology services provider that brings vast expertise in Microsoft competencies to hundreds of companies nationwide.

Magenium Solutions: Now “Powered by AVI”
Microsoft has an undisputable influence on how people meet, whether in meeting rooms, or by using applications such as Skype from their mobile devices or computers. “Magenium uniquely complements and enhances our visual communications offerings with their Microsoft prowess. The acquisition will be immediately accretive across our North American business,” said Jeff Stoebner, CEO of AVI Systems.

Commenting on Magenium’s future as a company “Powered by AVI,” Tim Traxinger, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Magenium Solutions, said, “This is a union of kindred companies. As a 100 percent ESOP organization, AVI provides fertile ground for its employees to prosper. AVI has a stellar reputation as a client-centric leader in this kinetic business landscape.”

Magenium Solutions will continue operating from its headquarters in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The company will retain all employees. AVI will grow its technical team by almost 50 professionals focused on bringing Microsoft solutions to a rapidly growing client base. Tim Traxinger and fellow Managing Director, Tom LaMantia, will be joining the AVI Systems Leadership Team.

About Magenium Solutions
Magenium Solutions is a Chicago-based IT consulting services firm with branch offices in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, and Minnesota. Its staff of more than 50 professionals is dedicated to delivering technology solutions including Microsoft Dynamics 365, Office 365, Azure, Unified Communications and Enterprise Systems Management. Services range from IT staffing to cloud computing and mobile app development. Through technology, Magenium Solutions helps clients grow their businesses, boost productivity, stay competitive, and reduce costs. For more information go to: www.magenium.com

About AVI Systems
Organizations who value the power of visual communications, trust AVI to enable people and teams to communicate their critical ideas. AVI technologies accelerate decision making, improve human interactions and create immersive experiences. For more information about AVI Systems, please visit www.avisystems.com

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